A Butler County employee recently tested positive for COVID-19, but county officials have declined to specify in which department the person works.

County Commissioner Kevin Boozel declined to name the person, citing HIPAA regulations, but he noted a recent uptick in cases in Butler County.

According to Tuesday's report by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Butler County added 14 confirmed cases. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,233 residents have tested positive for the virus.

In the past two weeks, Butler County has added an average of 14 confirmed cases per day. But in September, the county population averaged eight new confirmed cases per day.

While officials would not identify the department with the COVID-19 case, the daily proceedings of family court matters have been altered, with Judges Thomas Doerr and William Robinson taking on extra family court matters such as protection from abuse cases, according to the court schedule. Doerr said this is the second week he has had the extra case load.Judge Kelley Streib's court schedule has been empty this week, and her office did not return several calls made Tuesday.After reducing court activity in March over coronavirus concerns, court proceedings resumed in May.As COVID-19 began to spread, Judge William Shaffer, acting administrative judge in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, enacted restrictions March 18 allowing access to the courthouse, county government center and courtrooms to only those who had direct business there. The order, along with one from the state Supreme Court, brought a halt to all eviction hearings and jury trials in criminal and civil cases.The state Supreme Court extended the order several times to continue the statewide judicial emergency through May 31, and issued an order to end the statewide judicial emergency June 1. Since then, court proceedings have resumed.Shaffer declined to comment on the recent virus case. Court proceedings continued Tuesday, and Shaffer did not indicate that any additional precautionary measures will be taken.Doerr noted that he has taken recommended precautionary measures, like many of the other judges, in handling his caseload.“Everybody has to wear a mask. No exceptions, unless someone has a valid written reason. If that is the case, we would make extra arrangements, so no one else would be in the courtroom,” Doerr said.When possible, court proceedings are held via web streaming devices.“We're taking every precaution that we reasonably can in the courtroom,” Doerr said.Asked if he feels unsafe going to work, Doerr said, “I don't feel any more unsafe in the courthouse than I do going to Walmart or going shopping or going to the car repair shop. The only thing that makes me feel any more unsafe is the volume of people coming in and out of the courthouse.”Earlier in the pandemic, sheriff's deputies took the temperature of those entering the county government center at South Jackson and West Diamond streets. The measures are no longer carried out.

Boozel said there are employees in various county departments who have tested positive for COVID-19, but he does not know how many and declined to estimate the number.“I'm not surprised that there's an undetermined number of employees (who) have it and we're following protocols — such as cleaning, scrubbing, making sure people isolate if they feel ill,” Boozel said. “We're following all the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations.”That protocol includes self-isolation for those who have tested positive, according to the CDC website.Boozel said contact tracing is handled through the state Department of Health, but employees contacted by tracers who inform them they may have been in contact with a person who has tested positive do not share the positive person's name.“That's frustrating for people,” Boozel said.He said if a case is suspected or confirmed, the areas where the employee worked is deep cleaned.“We emphasize washing hands, sanitizing hands and wearing a mask,” Boozel said.Each department head can decide whether their workers must wear a mask while in the office, but Boozel said he believes employees moving around government properties outside of their departments should wear a mask.“I think we as a county have done our very, very best,” Boozel said.<i>Eagle staff writers Paula Grubbs and Nathan Bottiger contributed to this report.</i>